Tally board for indicating completion of a bingo card



April 20, 1965 s. s. LUKENS 3,179,415

V TALLY BOARD FOR INDICATING COMPLETION OF A BINGO CARD Filed July 19, 1963 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 $4 6/46527' 5: lake/vs,

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United States Patent 3,179,415 TALLY BOARD FOR INDICATING OMPLETIGN OF A BINGO CARD Gilbert S. Lukens, 3777 40th St., Apt. 2, San Diego, Calif. Fiied July 19, 1963, Ser. No. 296,272 2 Claims. (ill. 273--135) This invention relates in general to score and game boards. i

A popular game known as Bingo employs a playing card usually consisting of twenty-four numbers chosen at random and arranged in a grid pattern of five rows and five columns, with the center space marked as a free space without a number. The object of the game is to draw random numbers from a container while a plurality of persons place markers upon any numbers of the particular board corresponding to the numbers drawn at random, until one person is able to cover one complete row or column, or diagonal line of numbers. This person is the winner of the game.

Recently, this game has become a popular television game.

Usually, a sponsoring merchant gives out the cards to his customers as they visit the place of business. Each card is given a serial number. Then, on the day of the television program, the numbers are drawn and announced over the air. There may be hundreds of persons playing the game in their own parlor. Thecards are played in a somewhat difierent manner than whenever a group is assembled. When a person in group play has a completed column, row, or line, he is a Bingo winner. But the usual requirement for TV play is that'all card numbers be covered. This is called Blackout or a Coverall Bingo. In TV Bingo, the first person to call and have his card number confirmed accordingto the serial number is declared to be the Winner of that particular game.

The game of Bingo is played daily on a rapidly increasing number of television stations. The Bingo cards used by players are supplied free of charge by the sponsors, usually, of these Bingo programs. The normal procedure is for the sponsor to use a different color card each week for these games which are usually played daily over these television stations with the prescribed color of card used for the entire week, Monday through Friday. a

In order to improve their chances of winning the cash and/ or merchandise prizes offered by the sponsor most players obtain a number of cards and, as the numbers are called by the announcer, players have to search through all of the cards they are playing in order to de termine that the number called is on one or more of these cards. Winners must cover all numbers on at least one card of those being played and then when allnumbers are covered must also be the first to telephone the television station and have their card checked against the master file of such numbers which the television station has. i

This invention may be termed TV Multiple Card Bingo Board, and will be referred to as Board for the purpose of brevity. Usually, Bingo cards for the following week are available each Friday after that days game has been played which means that the players have the week end to obtain cards for the following week.

The purpose of this invention is to enable players to prepare this Board over the week end for the following week and which will, consequently, enable one player to play a number of cards as easily as playing one single card.

these Boards it is suggested that they be made as cheaply as possible so that the cost will be at a minimum. Boards, therefore, may be made of a single sheet of paper In order to provide the widest possible distribution of with the numbers one (1) through seventy-five (75) printed consecutively on a horizontal or vertical line. If, for example, these consecutive numbers are printed horizontally, then vertical lines must be' drawn or printed for the entire length of the paper in such manner as to enclose each number in the space between two such vertical lines. Contrawise, if these consecutive numbers are placed in a vertical position, then horizontal lines must be drawn or printed clear across the Board in such a manner so as to enclose each number separately in the space between two such lines.

Lines must then be drawn or printed parallel to the numbers 1 through 75 and across the lines described paragraph above in such a manner as to form squares and, on each such line' drawn or printed parallel to the consecutive numbers there must be a space of sufficient size that the player may write in the serial number of theBingo card for which this particular line is to be used.

Each line running parallel to these consecutive numhers is to be used to mark the numbers of one (1) single Bingo card only.

After entering the serial number of one Bingo card on the line the player may then prepare this line of the Board by marking the numbers appearing on this one Bingo card under the corresponding number printed on the Board. Since this line will appear as squares on the Board these Bingo card numbers may be marked on the Board by blocking out each such square in pencil, ink,

crayon, thumb-tacks, or any other means the player de- In manufacturing these Boards means must be provided for covering all squares at one time under each number as called by the announcer and this may be done by providing a strip of'paper, plastic, or any other material fastened to the Board in such a manner that it may be instantly pulled down, rolled down, or whatever, so that all squares pertaining to such number called will be covered and also a provision would be made that this covering strip be fastened in place so that it will not slip or uncover this strip of marked squares while the game is in progress.

Bingo cards .must be retained by the player after marking his Board so that they may be referred to or checked,

as prescribed by the television station or the sponsors-f the Bingo program. 7

These Boards may be manufactured as described and J discarded after using them for one week, or they may be made in such a manner that one Board may be used on a more or less permanent basis, week after week. If a holder were made in such a manner that the cover strips were fastened thereto, the single sheets so described could be padded and inserted in such holder and additional pads" purchased as needed. Also a more or less permanent Board could be made of heavy cardboard, corrugated paper board, wallboard, plastic, wood, or many other materials. If a more permanent type of Board were made then the markers could be thumb-tacks (24 to a card line) which, could be pulled out and replaced to new positions for subsequent Bingo cards. They could also be made of plastic with plastic squares inserted permanently which could be flipped to, for example, black or Patented Apr. 20, 1965 lels the consecutive printed numbers by merely glancing across these lines. When no markers show on any line then it is clearly shown that the card represented by that line is completely covered. The player then contacts the television station to have his covered card checked by them against their master file.

In such a contest there are necessarily more than one of the winning cards issued. Therefore, to win requires more than merely having the right card. Much depends upon the dexterity of the player to observe the number on his card, get the numbers covered in the proper sequence, and then be first on the telephone to the TV station. In the excitement, it is possible to overlook a number and be late in discovering the winning combination.

Furthermore, there are no limits to the number of score cards that may be obtained, and accordingly those who are real fans of the game collect a number of cards and play them at one time in order to increase their chances of winning. Obviously, the difficulty of watching the cards and covering all numbers accurately increases with the number of cards being observed by each player.

The present invention has for its primary object the provision of a game marker which will quickly and accurately determine the winning combination out of a plurality of cards.

A further object of the invention is to enable a player to prearrauge all possible winning combinations in an array which enables instantaneous location of all numbers to be covered in a plurality of cards.

In accordance with these and other objects which will become apparent hereinafter, a preferred form of the present invention is disclosed in the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a plan view of a game marker made according to the principles of this invention;

FIGURE 2 is a perspective view of a fragmentary portion of the game marker; and

FIGURE 3 is a section taken along 3-3 of FIGURE 2.

There are a wide variety of specific forms in which the present invention is quite capable of being useful. These forms range from quite inexpensive paper forms up to elaborate gift type devices for the extreme enthusiast made of fine woods, plastic, and metal. The illustrated embodiment is a compromise between the two extremes, and Will serve to illustrate the invention in suflicient detail that modifications may readily be constructed according to the economic market to be met, and the whim of the purchaser.

In the illustrated embodiment, a stiff board is employed as the background for the marker. On the surface of board It is a field surface marked with horizontal lines 12 and vertical lines 14 which produce a grid of indicia markers, or square blocks 15.

To illustrate the invention, a dimension suitable for use and the indicia markers 15 made large enough that older persons may observe the markings without eyestrain.

Hence, a series of more than'twenty title spaces 16 appear at both the left and right hand ends of the board 10. These spaces are allowed to be rectangular in order that the serial numbers of the cards obtained may be written in these spaces. They are placed at both ends of the board for a quick'reference. The essence of the use of this game marker is speed.

Along the top row of indicia markers 15, the indicia markers are numbered consecutively from 1 to 75, this number being the usual range of numbers employed in playing the game of Bingo. These numerals therefore number the 75 vertical columns. In order to assist in accuracy, the same numbering is applied along a middle row 17 and a bottom row 19. The words card number are placed in the title spaces 16 at the ends of these rows because no serial number of a Bingo card would be placed in thatspace, and also this wording will indicate pthat the left column is for that intended purpose.

The player patronizes the merchant or merchants handing out the cards during the week preceding the game on the air, and when a card is brought home, the serial number is entered in a title space 16 at each end of the row. Then, each number on the card is read oil and a suitable marker means such as thumbtacks 22 are placed in the row under the number appearing in the top row 2t? of column numbers. For example, if the card had serial numher 627, and has 24 numbers, three of which are 4, 8, and 12, a pin or a thumbtack 22 is placed under the number 4, one under the number 8, and one under the number 12. See FIGURE 1 for completion of this illustration of numbers along the row extending from the title marker bearing the serial number 627.

This procedure is carried out for any number of Bingo cards up to the capacity of the vertical column of title spaces. Once these number combinations have been filled in across the board as thus indicated, the player is ready to tune into the broadcast and begin his surveillance.

In order to make this game marker useful for a quick and accurate check of the plurality of cards, a strip 24 is provided for each of the vertical columns. Strips 24 are provided of any suitable material that may be extended along the vertical column and cover substantially between the vertical lines 14 defining the columns. The object is to cover the marker means in that column completely. For an illustration of a suitable means, stiff cardboard has been employed.

Each of the strips 24, in order to be held accurately aligned with one particular vertical column, and with no other, is provided with a hinge 26 of flexible tape material which positions the strip and provides a quick alignment of the strip at the top of the column. The strip is then provided with a pin 28 near the free end, with the head of the pin acting as a handle on the top side of the strip, and with the point projecting on through the strip. This point is adapted to extend into a hole 30 placed at the bottom of the coluumn.

Thus, the strip is merely flipped over about the hinge 25 and the pin 28 engaged into the hole 30 and the strip is firmly positioned over the column, covering the tack heads entirely. Thus, if the caller on the broadcast reads off numbers 1, 2, and 3, for example, and the three strips 24 corresponding to these numbers are swung around the hinge to the covering position as illustrated in FIGURE 1, it will be seen that all of the pins in these columns are completely obliterated and as far as the eye can discern, there are no marks for the particular card in these three numbers. This is equivalent to covering the numbers 1, 2, and 3, on the individual boards with a covering marker. However, it is done instantaneously for all of the cards which were previously set up onto the board.

As the game proceeds, and various numbers are called and all cards having that number are covered by closing the strip, eventually, the eye will determine that on one horizontal row no marker pins are visible. This indicates that all numbers of that particular card have been covered and that card is a winner. All the player needs to do at this time is to make known the fact, then that'card, for example, the card bearing serial number 11632 in illustra tion of the drawings, and that person is announced the winner. This winning column is marked for easy reference on the FIGURE 1.

Note that the blank appearance is caused by a plurality of the strips 24 being placed in the closed position over the field surface and secured top and bottom as described.

To facilitate the quick-spotting of a winner, the marker means are preferably highly colored thumbtacks and the board is a contrasting color such as pure white. The strips also are pure white. Thus the absence of color in that row will be instantly observed.

Furthermore, to be certain that the eye is reading accurately, and that the correct serial number is given as the winning card, a scanner or spotter board 31 is provided; This board 31 has a rectangularslot 32 which is dimensioned substantially as wide as the distance between the horizontal lines 12, and as long as the distance between the outer edges of the end vertical lines 14. Thus, the board 31 may be placed over the winning column to confirm that fact and the winning serial number will appear at the ends of the slot 32.

There are innumerable variations of material and specific instructions which may be employed, such as using card numbers along the top and the playing numbers along the vertical rows, and similar modifications within the scope of the invention, but these modifications are to be understood to be clearly within the scope of the invention as defined in the following claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A game board, comprising:

a field surface having a series of title spaces extending in a first direction, and a row of indicia space markers extending in a second direction from each said space; a row of numerical headings adjacent and parallel to said rows of markers, the numerals of said headings progressing in said second direction; the markers in said first mentioned rows forming other rows parallel to said series of title spaces, each of said other rows being aligned with one of said headings;

means to select and set apart particular indicia space markers in each of a plurality of roWs along said second direction in numerical progression to set up a particular game situation; and

a cover device for each of said other rows of indicia space markers, with means to removably hold a given one of said cover devices over a row in a first position, said cover having a second position wherein said row is uncovered 2. A game marker, comprising: a field surface; a row of title markings;

a series of rows of indicia markings, one row extending from each title marking in an angular direction with respect to said row of title markings from the place of said title row marking, and lying in lateral relationship to indicia markings of other rows;

marker means to select and set apart particular indicia markings in each of a plurality of rows of indicia markings to establish cross rows of selected indicia markings in predetermined space relationship and aligned substantially parallel to said row of title markings; and

a cover panel for each cross row of indicia markings, said cover panel having a first storage position ofl? the face of said field surface and a second service position covering the cross row of indicia markings.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 571,031 11/96 Wilson. 832,871 10/06 Mitchell. 845,798 3/07 Lehr. 2,230,178 1/41 Campbell. 3,110,499 11/63 Boeskool 273-139 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,136,962 1/57 France.

DELBERT B. LOWE, Primary Examiner, 

1. A GAME BOARD, COMPRISING: A FIELD SURFACE HAVING A SERIES OF TITLE SPACES EXTENDING IN A FIRST DIRECTION, AND A ROW OF INDICIA SPACE MARKERS EXTENDING IN A SECOND DIRECTION FROM EACH SAID SPACE; A ROW OF NUMERICAL HEADINGS ADJACENT AND PARALLEL TO SAID ROWS OF MARKERS, THE NUMERALS OF SAID HEADINGS PROGRESSING IN SAID SECOND DIRECTION; THE MARKERS IN SAID FIRST MENTIONED ROWS FORMING OTHER ROWS PARALLEL TO SAID SERIES OF TITLE SPACES, EACH OF SAID OTHER ROWS BEING ALIGNED WITH ONE OF SAID HEADINGS; MEANS TO SELECT AND SET APART PARTICULAR INDICIA SPACE MARKERS IN EACH OF A PLURALITY OF ROWS ALONG SAID SECOND DIRECTION IN NUMERICAL PROGRESSION TO SET UP A PARTICULAR GAME SITUATION; AND A COVER DEVICE FOR EACH OF SAID OTHER ROWS OF INDICIA SPACE MARKERS, WITH MEANS TO REMOVABLY HOLD A GIVEN ONE OF SAID COVER DEVICES OVER A ROW IN A FIRST POSITION, SAID COVER HAVING A SECOND POSITION WHEREIN SAID ROW IS UNCOVERED. 